El Dorado alters search for new chief

EL DORADO — As Police Chief Billy White’s retirement nears, the El Dorado Civil Service Commission has broadened its search for candidates and scheduled spring exams to help fill positions in the police and fire departments.

White’s last day with the El Dorado Police Department will be Jan. 31. He has been with the department for nearly 30 years and was appointed chief in 2013.

The commission agreed to extend the deadline for candidates to apply for the police chief’s job from Dec. 15 to Tuesday.

Commissioners said four applications, all from within the department, had been submitted by Dec. 15, and the Civil Service Commission chairman, Toddy Pitard, said that while “any of the [in-house candidates] would be an excellent choice,” the commission wanted to cast a wider net to allow candidates outside the department to apply.

Newspaper advertising and social media postings are being complemented by listings on job search websites, such as Indeed.com and those that target the law enforcement community, commissioners said.

Pitard and White said retired El Dorado police Lt. Randy Harvey, an on-air personality and music director for a local radio broadcast station, is assisting with the effort.

“We’re not getting a lot of outside applicants. We’ve actually got none … so we’re taking a different direction with our advertising, so we should get more with the platforms we’re using now,” Pitard said during a commission meeting last week.